Paris

• Ramadan · Feb 12 – Feb 18 · religious

  The month of daytime fasting - quieter daylight hours, then streets and tables come alive after sunset for iftar.

• Eid al-Fitr · Mar 19-25 · religious

  The joyful close of Ramadan - new clothes, feasting and visiting; one of the warmest, busiest weeks of the year.

• Easter · Mar 26 – Mar 8 · religious

  Holy Week into Easter - processions and quiet reflection give way to a celebratory weekend.

• Paris Marathon · Apr 2-8 · sport

  50,000 runners winding past the city's monuments - central arrondissements closed Sunday morning.

• May Day Demonstrations · Apr 30-May 6 · holiday

  Paris's May Day marches can turn volatile when 'black bloc' groups clash with police — vigilance and active avoidance of demonstration routes is officially advised.

• Eid al-Adha · May 21 – Jun 3 · religious

  The festival of sacrifice - a major public holiday of communal prayers and shared feasts.

• French Open (Roland-Garros) · May 28 – May 10 · sport

  Two weeks of clay-court tennis; the 16th arrondissement busy, the rest of Paris in flowery early-summer form.

• Fête de la Musique · Jun 18-24 · festival

  Free music takes over every square and street corner on the summer solstice - France's musical free-for-all.

• Bastille Day · Jul 9-15 · holiday

  July 14 - parade down the Champs-Élysées, fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, a city in full national mood.

• Paris Plages · Jul 16 – Jul 19 · festival

  The Seine banks turned into beaches for a month - deckchairs, dancing, free swimming pools.

• Tour de France finale · Jul 23-29 · sport

  The Tour's final stage rounds onto the Champs-Élysées - the city out on the kerb to watch.

• August Vacation Exodus · Jul 30 – Sep 2 · festival

  All of France migrates south in August — traffic jams stretch to 1,000 km on samedi noir, local shops shutter for the month, and foreign tourists flood Paris as room rates spike.

• August city shutdown · Aug 6 – Aug 26 · holiday

  Parisians decamp en masse for the south - many small bistros and shops simply close for three weeks.

• Nuit Blanche · Oct 1-7 · festival

  All-night contemporary art across the city - installations in churches, parks, metro stations.

• Christmas markets & lights · Nov 26 – Nov 31 · religious

  Markets at Tuileries and Notre-Dame, ice rink at the Hôtel de Ville, the grands magasins decorated - cold, atmospheric, expensive.

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